Bears pull out 2-1 win

A pair of third-period goals, including the game-winner by Ryan Potulny with 4:34 to play, lifted Hershey to the victory.

Bear goaltender Dany Sabourin watches the puck as it rolls between the feet of Hershey defender Zach Miskovic on Saturday night. Also in the picture at right are Hershey s Ryan Potulny and Charlotte s Chris Durno.
(LEBANON DAILY NEWS GLEN GRAY)

HERSHEY - The Giant Center crowd waited and waited for a reason to explode on Saturday night.

And while it might have taken more than two periods, the 10,777 in attendance finally got their chance as the Bears rallied for a 2-1 comeback victory over Charlotte.

Trailing by a goal in the third, Cody Eakin tied the contest at 12:44 and Ryan Potulny won it on a top-shelf deposit with 4:34 remaining in regulation. The win makes it five straight overall and six consecutive wins at home for Hershey.

"It's a team win; everybody's blocking shots," said Sabourin. "Every game right now is important for the playoffs. We want to keep it going, keep it rolling. The guys are playing so hard in front of me. I'm very proud of that."

With a Wilkes-Barre loss on Saturday night, Hershey trails the Baby Penguins by one point for the fourth and final home-ice playoff spot. Against Charlotte, the Checkers jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a slap shot from the right point with 37 ticks left in the first period.

Moments after Sabourin snared a Sanguinetti slap shot, the puck came back to the forward, who used traffic in the crease to find the back of the net his ninth goal of the season. At the end of one, the visitors held a 14-4 advantage in shots.

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The second period was similar, although Hershey chipped away at the shot advantage, cutting the deficit to 23-16 after 40 minutes. Early in the third, defenseman Tomas Kundratek delivered a thundering check to Charlotte's Nicolas Blanchard along the far boards. A clean hit, Blanchard laid motionless on the ice for nearly two minutes before he was helped off by teammates.

When action resumed, the hosts continued to apply pressure, eventually getting Eakin's equalizer with 12:44 left in regulation. The goal came off an assist from Chris Bourque, who extended his AHL-leading point total to 83.

Potulny's game-winner came off helpers from Kyle Greentree and Kundratek.

The Bears and Checkers return to Giant Center ice today to wrap up their four-game regular-season series at 5 p.m. Hershey is 3-0-1 against Charlotte after capturing pair of one-goal road decisions in January. In the first meeting, Hershey won a 12-round shootout in the first meeting, the longest extra session in club history.

Notes: Hershey scratches included forwards Jacob Micflikier, Christian Hanson, Andrew Carroll, Graham Mink, Daniel Koger and defenseman Patrick Wellar. ... The announced attendance of 10,777 signaled the 18th time in the past 19 games that Hershey has drawn a five-digit crowd.

The first 5,000 on Saturday night received a Keith Aucoin bobblehead doll. The first team photo/team autograph night for the first 5,000 fans. ... The team semifinals of the AHL's 2012 bubble hockey tournament took place during the second intermission. Former Bears goalie Frederic Cassivi advanced to the finals, which will be held during the Hershey-St. John's game Saturday.